DISCLAIMER: I may own the M*A*S*H episodes on dvd, but I certainly don't own M*A*S*H or any of its characters.
It had been over a week since Peg had left, and B.J. was starting to wonder whether or not she would ever return.
B.J. wanted her back so badly. He'd thought about calling her, but was never sure where to start. After all, he wasn't sure where Peg had gone with Erin. He assumed she had gone to Sally's (since Sally was her dearest childhood friend), but If Peg wasn't there, how would he explain the situation to Sally? And if Peg was there, then surely she would have told Sally everything that was going on. If that was the case, Sally probably hated him by now. B.J. couldn't blame her; he hated himself too.
He had tried so hard to get up and do something since Peg and Erin had been gone: finding a job, fixing up the house, anything to keep his mind distracted. But it was to no avail. The nightmares were so bad now that he was only getting a few hours of sleep at night, and the flashbacks were haunting him during the daytime.
In fact, B.J. had not realized just how much help Peg and Erin's presence had been until they were gone. His girls had given him something to be grounded in, something to be distracted by. Without them, the nightmares and flashbacks only got worse. They were more out of control then they had been before, and every single one involved his wife and daughter. In some nightmares Peg and Erin left him, in others they were wounded, and still in others he was the one hurting them.
B.J. felt like he couldn't go on. He was sitting on the couch enjoying a rare moment free of flashbacks and nightmares. He was thinking about Peg and Erin, hoping and praying that they were safe and that they would come back when suddenly the phone rang. He had been too upset to answer the phone since Peg had left, but for some reason he felt like he needed to this time.
"Hello?" he said as he picked up the phone.
"B.J…it's Peg."
"Peg?" B.J.'s heart skipped a beat as he heard his wife's gentle voice. "Are you and Erin ok?"
"Yes, we're fine." Peg said quietly.
"Oh, good." B.J. said with a sigh of relief before he spoke again. "What's going on?" It was an awkward way to start the conversation, but he wasn't sure what else to say.
"Well, I was just calling to let you know that Erin and I are coming home." As Peg said this, B.J. could hear the nervousness in her voice.
"You're coming home?" B.J. asked with a hint of excitement in his voice. "That's great."
"Yeah, I know. B.J., we really need to talk when I get back. I think there's a lot going on with us right now."
"Definitely, you're right." B.J. said quickly. "Of course we can talk."
"Are you sure? Because you haven't been up for talking the past few months. I just want to be sure you're ready."
B.J. was quiet for a minute. Her words hurt, but he knew she was right. "Of course I'll be ready to talk." Even as he said it, he wondered if it was the truth. Before he could think about it further, he decided to change the conversation. "So where have you and Erin been staying?"
"We've been staying at Sally's."
"Of course." B.J. said. Once again, there was silence on the line. "So, when do you leave?"
"Our train leaves this evening."
"Ok…well, I'll be here when you get back." B.J. said. The line went quiet, since neither one of them was exactly sure what to say next. After a few seconds, Peg spoke quietly.
"B.J.?"
"Yes?" he asked hesitantly, unsure of what she was going to say to him.
"I love you." As Peg said this, she broke into a small, sad smile. After all, no matter what happened between them, she did love him. She always would.
"I love you too, Peg."
"Alright. Bye." Peg replied. Before B.J. could say anything else, Peg hung up the phone and the conversation ended. B.J. was quiet for a minute, taking in exactly what Peg had said on the phone. She was coming home. He wanted to jump for joy, to pump his fist in the air and shout. After all, the two people he loved most in the world were coming back to him. But a haunting question stopped him:
Why were they coming back?
B.J. began to mutter to himself. "Ok, there can really only be two reasons for Peg coming back. Either she's coming back for good, or she's coming back to tell me she's leaving for good." As he continued to think, he realized that either way his options weren't that great. If she came back to tell him goodbye for forever, he would be without the two people he loved and needed most: his wife and daughter. He simply could not live like that. The alternative was that she was coming back to stay. If she was coming back to stay, that would require him to make some major changes. For one thing, he'd have to start being a good husband and father again. As much as he wanted to do that, he knew that he would need to get rid of the nightmares and flashbacks first, which was something he'd been trying to do on his own for months. He had no idea how or if he would be able to work through this problem. In other words, even if Peg did decide to stay, he couldn't love her the way he was supposed to.
"And I thought war was hell." he said to himself as he anxiously started to pace around the house. "This is so much worse than Korea ever was." Suddenly, he back at the 4077. This time he was in post-op, dealing with a patient who had gone south quickly and would need surgery again, all because he had missed a hole in the bowel. He started to panic, but in an instant he was back in his living room. He took a deep sigh. "Another flashback." He'd been having more the last few days, each one becoming more and more real. Before he had time to think about the flashback any further, the phone rang again. He picked it up, expecting it to be Peg calling again. However, this time it was a younger, happier voice.
"Daddy?" Erin asked softly. As soon as B.J. heard his daughter's voice, he couldn't help but break into a huge smile.
"Hi Erin." he said gently to her.
"We come home!" Erin said with an excited voice, absolutely thrilled to be talking to her daddy. "On twain!"
"Yes, you'll be coming home on the train." B.J. could only imagine how much Erin had enjoyed herself on her first train ride. It was a shame he had not been there with her. "Did you have fun on your first train ride?"
"Yay, twain!" Erin responded. B.J. laughed, glad to hear the innocent joy in Erin's voice.
"Hey Erin. I miss you."
"Miss you, daddy." Erin replied quietly. "Like Kowea."
B.J. was stunned. It was simply tragic that his daughter had such a strong connection between missing her daddy and Korea. Even worse, his time in Korea may have affected his relationship with Erin for the rest of her life. As he thought about these things, Erin spoke again.
"Love you, daddy."
"Love you too, Erin." he said softly.
"Bye daddy. See soon!" Peg helped Erin hang up the phone. Erin ran off to play, giving Sally and Peg a moment alone to talk.
"That was nice of you to let her call him." Sally interjected as she walked in the room.
"It's not like I had a choice." Peg said as she shook her head. "When she ran into the room and heard that I had talked to B.J., she pretty much forced me to call him back for her."
"Well, toddlers can be very…persuasive." Sally told her with a laugh.
"More like demanding. But I'm glad he got to talk to her. To be honest, it was harsh of me to take her away from him like I did."
"Peg, you were doing what you had to do. Besides, you're going back home. That's what matters."
"I guess you're right." Peg told her. "I still can't believe how this week has turned out."
"I know." Sally replied. "It's crazy that Dr. Pierce worked with B.J. in Korea. And now he's going home with you to help B.J."
"It's simply unbelievable." Peg said. "I mean, when B.J. would write to me, he always described Hawkeye as being such a great friend. Now I see why."
"Did he end up calling that psychiatrist like he said he was going to?" Sally asked her, knowing that B.J. needed professional help as well as the support of a friend.
"He did. Dr. Freedman's going to meet up with us in California. Hawkeye told me that Dr. Freedman thinks he has a real shot at helping B.J."
"That's incredible." Sally said. She paused for a moment before continuing. "What about the baby?"
"That's something I can't believe either. This pregnancy feels completely unreal. Like it's happening to somebody else."
"What are you going to do?" Sally asked. "I mean, are you and B.J. ready to raise another child?"
"I guess we have to be." Peg replied softly. "But it was hard enough raising Erin without B.J. here. I don't know if I can do that with another child."
"Speaking of Erin, are you going to tell her about the baby? You know sooner or later she's going to figure out something is going on." Erin had already asked what pregnant meant, and although Peg and Sally had been able to distract her from the question, they both noticed that she seemed more in-tune to the serious conversations that had been occurring.
"Well, Erin was in the room when Hawkeye and I were talking about the pregnancy. But I don't think she caught on to what we were talking about. At least I hope not. I can't tell her until I tell B.J.: otherwise she'll break the news to him before I have a chance to do it."
"Oh, that's a good point." Sally replied. "B.J. deserves to know first anyway."
"Yeah, and I have to be the one to tell him. It's already bad enough that so many people know. B.J. was the first one to know when I was pregnant with Erin."
"Can you help it if the doctor who discovered your pregnancy just so happens to be B.J.'s best friend? Or that you were staying with your nosy best friend at the time, who would have pried it out of you anyway?"
"True." Peg replied. "Speaking of B.J.'s best friend, Hawkeye will be here in a little while to pick me up. We should probably finish packing my things." The next hour involved light conversation between Peg and Sally as they packed and watched Erin play. Just as they were finishing, Hawkeye showed up at Sally's house to pick up Peg and Erin.
"Knock, knock." he said as he rang the bell and Sally answered the door. "Chauffer service here for Mrs. and Ms. Hunnicutt."
"Come on in, Dr. Pierce." Sally said as she let him inside.
"I've told you, it's Hawkeye. Geez, with the fancy title you give me, people might think I'm a doctor or something." Sally, who was used to his strange sense of humor, rolled her eyes. Peg then walked in the room, holding Erin in her arms.
"Hello, Hawkeye." Peg told him with a smile. "Are you ready to go?"
"Ready when you are."
"We've just got a few things to carry out." Peg replied.
"No problem, I can help with that." Hawkeye said, grabbing their suitcases. "See, part time chauffer, part time bell-boy, and part time doctor. Oh, and we can't forget about part time nurse wrestler."
"It's a good thing I'm just your secretary." Sally said as she grabbed what was left of the luggage. Peg held Erin in her arms, and they all walked outside to pack the car. Once the car was packed, Peg turned to say her goodbyes to Sally.
"Sally, thank you for everything." Peg told her friend.
"Of course. I don't know when I'll see you next. You may have already had your little one by then." As Sally said this, she started to get a bit misty eyed.
"Why don't you come with us?" Hawkeye interjected. "C'mon, we'll run away together to California: we can stick these two hitch-hikers in the backseat. Better yet, let them drive and save the backseat for us."
"I don't know, your girlfriend might not let you off the ball and chain if she found out about that." Sally told him sarcastically. "You know I'd like nothing better than to go with you to see B.J. But since I'm the only secretary at the office right now, I can't be gone for that long."
"I wish you could come too." Peg said. "But I understand." The two ladies then gave each other a tight hug.
"You take care Peg, alright?" Sally told her with tears in her eyes. "Tell B.J. I'll come back and kick his butt if he doesn't behave. Now go get your man back."
"I will." Hawkeye said jokingly as he watched them hug. Peg laughed while Sally rolled her eyes.
"See, your trip is a vacation for me from you and your so-called humor." Sally told him with a smile.
"C'mon, you know I'm endearing." Hawkeye told her as he, Peg, and Erin all piled into his car.
"I'm sure that's what your girlfriend tells you." Sally said with a sigh. Peg laughed again, and they all said their final goodbyes. Then Hawkeye drove off with Peg and Erin. Their first stop was the train station, then on to California. All to accomplish one important mission: to get B.J. back.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello all! I know it's been a while since I've posted. I have been working on the story, but I was jumping around and working on future chapters instead of finishing this one. I've also been doing lots of 'research' for the story (my excuse to watch more episodes of M*A*S*H). Anyway, thank you for reading. I hope you are enjoying reading this story as much as I am enjoying writing it. This chapter did have some references to episodes of M*A*S*H:
It Happened One Night (S4, E4). B.J.'s flashback in this chapter takes him back to a time when he performed surgery on a soldier but missed a hole in the bowel (which plays out in this episode).
Abyssinia, Henry (S3, E24). Sally's line of "tell B.J. I'll come back and kick his butt if he doesn't behave" is very similar to Henry's line to Radar before he leaves the 4077 ("If you don't behave, I'm going to come back and kick your butt.")
Hepatitis (S5, E19). Hawkeye's line about being a part-time nurse wrestler is very similar to Hawkeye's line in this episode when B.J. asks him about his lack of exercise ("I wrestle periodically with the nurses").
Please continue to review with any compliments, constructive criticisms, and questions. Thank you again for reading the story, and I hope you continue to enjoy future chapters.
